East Coast Greenway -

Committee

Florida Committee for the East Coast Greenway

ECGA staff and volunteers meet with local planners and advocates to plan the ECG through south Florida. Photo: Dan Burden.

Florida will form its first state committee in May 2010 ahead of the Pro Bike/Pro Walk Florida Conference in Lakeland. Date is Tuesday afternoon, May 11th. To take part, email Southeast Region Program Consultant Herb Hiller, or call 386/467-8223. There’s no charge to take part and it’s not necessary to attend the conference itself, although the conference is a major event in the ongoing trails year.

The committee will have much to do toward completing the 600-mile spine route through Florida. Major opportunities call for routing the Greenway along the Florida East Coast Railway corridor as part of an ongoing FDOT South Florida East Coast Corridor Study. Success can result in another roughly 80 miles incorporated into the Florida route through heavily congested south Florida’s Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. This would bring the spine route to approximately 300 miles, or half the entire state distance. Fifty percent is a tipping point for our kinds of projects. Counties and cities that may have been previously passive about such trails tend to newly perceive the opportunities that long-distance trails generate and come on board.

News & Events
Current Committee Goals
Support the Effort in Florida
Contact Information

News & Events

March 27-April 2, 2010 -- 17th annual Bike Florida Spring Event along the St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop, a spine-and-alternative route of the East Coast Greenway. Log onto www.bikeflorida.org.

Fall 2010 – Trails Summit organized by East Coast Greenway Alliance, part of the River Summit hosted by the St. Johns River Alliance in Jacksonville.

Fall 2010 – Launch of Florida trails website with Visit Florida; program chaired by East Coast Greenway Alliance.

Recent news

November 2009 – ECGA major donors enjoy their third annual tour along the St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop. (Previous tours in the Czech Republic and along an historic route between Wilmington, Delaware, and New York City.) New ECGA Executive Director Dennis Markatos-Soriano joins the tour and remains in northeast Florida for three days of meetings with City of Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton and various supporters including EverBank Jacksonville Vice-Chairman David Strickland, attorneys John Welch and Bob Rhodes, First Coast Transportation Planning Director Jeff Sheffield, St. Johns River Alliance Executive Director Mark Middlebrook, Trust for Public Land Jacksonville Office Director Susan Grandin, Trail Council member Steven Davis ASLA, Amelia Island Trails Director Phil Scanlan and others. Brava Victoria and Robert Freeman for hosting traveling ECGA leaders at their House on Cherry Street Bed & Breakfast directly on the St. Johns River.

November 2009 – East Central Florida Regional Planning Council and ECGA co-host Trails and the Green, Florida’s first workshop on the connection between trails and economic development. Turnout of 85, including staff and presenters, included numerous county commissioners, economic development officials, hoteliers, NGO managers and entrepreneurs. Reported regional blogger Susan Young,

October 2009 – ECGA affiliate Amelia Island Trails scores $2.5 million for five miles of the Greenway in 2014-2016.

Summer 2009 – Cumberland Sound Ferry, launched in 2008 as an outcome of 2007 ECGA meetings in Fernandina Beach, extends its Georgia-Florida service to six days a week in summer (although remaining Thursday-Saturday fall and winter). The passenger-bicycle ferry constitutes a critical bi-state link in the East Coast Greenway. Read the full article here.

Current Florida Goals

Lock in proposal by Florida Department of Transportation for a roughly 90-mile rail-with-trail as part of its South Florida East Coast Corridor Study through Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

By National Trails Month 2010, complete a comprehensive state trails site as part of the Visit Florida website.

Help revive the First Coast Trails Coalition.

Gain commitment by Volusia County for planning completion of its trails system along the coast and north of DeLeon Springs to the Putnam County line.

Work with Space Coast hoteliers to determine a route for the Greenway between Titusville and Indialantic.

Advance ongoing initiatives to facilitate the Greenway through St. Lucie County and its completion through Martin County.

Cumberland Sound Ferry carries ECG travelers between St. Marys, GA and Fernandina Beach, FL. Photo: Mike Pikula

Support the Effort in Florida

The Florida Committee consists of volunteers who dedicated their time and resources to advocate for the creation of local trails in Florida. Please help the Committee create the ECG in by volunteering your time, becoming a member or sponsoring a mile of trail.